


Sanctuary

by LadyWallace



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Wings, Cas Whump, Cas and Kids, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Castiel, Light Angst, No Slash, Original Characters - Freeform, adorable kids, gen - Freeform, powerless Cas, sam and dean to the rescue, season 5, stranded Cas, wing fic, worried Sam and Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-01-28 21:35:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12616052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWallace/pseuds/LadyWallace
Summary: During a hunt with the Winchesters Cas is captured by demons and injured while trying to escape as fast as he can to keep the demons and Lucifer off Sam and Dean’s trail. But with an injured wing, he can’t get far and finds an unexpected place to rest and help from a surprising party.





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel came to sharply with a kick to his side. He swiftly surged onto his hands and knees, looking for the threat, searching for his weapon, but he was hauled roughly the rest of the way to his feet before he could truly get his mind back together from whatever had rendered him unconscious.

"Up you come, angel," one of his captors said with an excited glint in his eye as they flashed black.

With a jolt of recollection, Castiel remembered what had happened.

He'd been jumped by demons.

It had started out as just a typical hunt with Sam and Dean, looking into strange deaths in the area, and then after a couple days of finding nothing, they had decided to split up to cover more ground. Castiel had gone to inspect an abandoned factory just outside of town where witnesses had reported people coming and going when they had no right to be, and Sam and Dean had taken another rout of inquiry. It turned out that Castiel had been the lucky one to find the source of the issue.

He'd gotten to the warehouse but as soon as he had walked through the door, something had hit him hard and that was the last thing he remembered until now.

As he tried to shake the grogginess out of his head, he became aware that his grace, which was weak as it was anyway, was unreachable. Something, probably the blast that had knocked him unconscious, had completely locked it down. Even if he could still smite demons, he wouldn't have been able to now.

His shock at this discovery allowed the demons to finish dragging him into a side room where they threw him into a sigiled circle that had been painted on the floor. Castiel growled, and tried to lunge at them as they backed up, but he was unable to pass the confines of the circle. It must be some kind of Enochian angel trap.

Castiel suddenly felt sick to his stomach. No low-grade demon would have known how to make this trap, so they must have been taught by an angel. Which could only lead to the conclusion that these demons were working directly for Lucifer.

"Hey, it actually works," one of the demons smirked as he watched Castiel pace in frustration as he tried to find any weakness in the trap. "I guess I owe you ten bucks."

"What are you doing here?" Castiel demanded. "Why are you killing all those people?"

The first demon, possessing a large, dark haired man, shrugged. "We're just following orders, Castiel. Lucifer wants Sam Winchester and who is it that comes knocking whenever strange deaths happen? The Winchesters."

"Problem is," the other demon, blond and rail thin, but mean-looking, spoke up. "Sam and Dean have both guarded themselves against demons and angels alike. They're virtually undetectable. But you…" he drew Castiel's own angel blade out of the back of his belt, making Castiel seethe. "I bet you know exactly where they are, and how to get them to come here."

Castiel glared at them. "If you think for a minute that I'm just going to give the Winchesters up to you, you're wrong."

"Oh, of course not," the blond demon said, testing the angel blade with a fingertip. "We were actually kind of counting on you saying that—we're always up for a little…fun." His eyes flicked black again as both demons stepped into the circle.

Castiel dodged the first slash with the blade but the big dark-haired demon grabbed him from behind. He threw his head back, and stomped on the demon's foot, but his captor simply kicked the backs of his knees and sent him to the floor where the second demon applied chains and manacles that were bolted into the concrete, snapping them tight around his wrists. Castiel yanked on them, but they held, too short for him even to stand up. He wasn't much stronger than a human in his current state. He wondered if the blast that had locked down his grace would wear off eventually—hopefully sooner rather than later.

"Poor birdy, caught in a trap," the blond demon taunted, eyes flicking black. He pressed the tip of the blade under Castiel's chin, tipping his head up. "Tell me, what do I have to do to get you to sing Sam Winchester's location to me?"

Castiel glowered up at him. "Go screw yourself." He thought wryly that Dean would be proud of that one.

The demon smirked and sliced the blade down the side of Castiel's face. The angel grimaced at the sharp sting of pain, but held his tongue. Next, the demon pushed Castiel's collar aside and pressed the point of the blade just under his collarbone.

"Let me ask you again. Where is Sam Winchester?"

"It doesn't matter how many times you ask, I won't tell you," Castiel snarled. "So you want to torture me? Do it. It's not going to change anything."

The demons' shared a glance before the blond one smirked again with a shrug. "Well, I guess we can still have our fun. We can at least loosen him up a bit before Lucifer arrives."

Castiel's stomach plummeted. Lucifer was coming here? He had to get Sam and Dean out of there as quickly as possible. He was sure that if they didn't hear from him eventually, they would show up at the factory and then they would be walking right into a trap; just like he had.

He had to find a way to get out of the chains and the angel trap. He would not let Lucifer take Sam.

But he couldn't let the demons see how hopeless he was starting to feel either. He glared up at his tormentor. "Do your worst."

The demon cocked his head to one side. "No problem, sweetheart." He reached down to roughly loosen Castiel's tie and pull his shirt open before he traced the angel blade down his chest teasingly.

"Now, where should we start…?"

~~~~~~~

Dean huffed an irritated sigh as he and Sam exited the local morgue.

"Another dead end," he muttered. "And no, there was no pun intended."

"Well, we do know one thing, and that's that every one of these people were killed by demons," Sam offered. "The place reeked of sulfur."

"Yeah, but why?" Dean demanded as he stopped to pull his keys out of his pocket as they reached the Impala. "I mean, demons kill people all the time, sure, but not in concentrated amounts in one city. Not if they don't have some reason behind it." He pulled open the car door and slid behind the wheel as Sam got into the passenger seat. "And none of these people have a connection. None of them got some miraculous fortune ten years ago, or even more recently. They're grade school teachers, and accountants—people who should have nothing to do with the supernatural at all!" He loosened his Fed tie in frustration. It was their third day working on this case and even with this latest death, they had zero viable information.

"Maybe Cas found something from the warehouse lead," Sam offered.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said doubtfully. "Speaking of, where is he? He's been gone for several hours and hasn't checked in. It shouldn't have taken him that long to check out one warehouse."

"Maybe he found another lead. I'll give him a call," Sam said and pulled out his phone, dialing Cas' number and putting the phone on speaker.

It rang and rang, making Dean more agitated before the voicemail picked up with: I—I don't understand. Why do you want me to say my name? and the sound of random buttons being pushed.

"Great," Dean grunted, slapping his hands on the steering wheel as he pulled out of the morgue parking lot. "Now Cas is AWOL. This day just gets better and better."

~~~~~~~

Castiel slumped forward, catching himself with his manacled hands as he panted through the agony ripping across his body. He had multiple deep cuts across his chest and stomach, some on his arms and face too, and he knew that the demons weren't even halfway done with him. Worse, he still hadn't figured out a way to get out of the chains and the angel trap.

"He's not gonna talk," the dark-haired demon growled.

"Oh, he will, trust me," the blond said, marching around behind Castiel before gripping a hand in his hair and yanking his head back. Castiel grunted a protest and found himself looking up at the demon. His tormentor took the blade, now covered in Castiel's blood, and began to trace it over his throat slowly, scraping over his adam's apple and rasping against the stubble on his chin.

"One last chance, halo, or I'm going to try something that will have you singing in a heartbeat."

Castiel glared defiantly. "No."

"Can't say I didn't warn you." He let go of Castiel and turned to the other demon with a nod. "Get the stuff ready for that spell."

The dark-haired demon grinned so maliciously that Castiel had a very bad feeling about what was coming next.

The other demon began to chant something and Castiel began to feel uncomfortable, like his skin was rebelling against him, almost electrically charged. It almost felt like when he was about to exit a vessel. Fear gripped him suddenly as he thought maybe they would send him back to Heaven where he would be at the mercy of Zachariah and all the angels who thought he deserved to be punished for his insurrection.

But he was soon to realize that wasn't what the demons had planned at all.

The blond demon moved away from him after a second, and Castiel was forced to hunch over as the discomfort, quickly turning to pain, culminated in his back. He was unable to stop a scream from escaping his throat as agony ripped across his shoulders as the demon finished the chant and threw a match into the bowl of ingredients. Castiel felt something rip deep inside of him as flames exploded from the bowl.

It was only after a few seconds that he realized what the spell had done, as he caught sight of large, black feathers in his peripheral vision, and terror overcame him.

They had manifested his wings.

The dark haired demon whistled low. "Well look at that, the little birdy has wings after all."

The blond demon smiled in pure glee as he slowly circled Castiel and traced the angel blade over one of his sleek wings. Castiel gasped involuntarily and jerked the appendage back away from the bite of the blade.

"Well, I gotta say they're not the prettiest things I've ever seen," his tormentor commented wryly looking pointedly at the singed edges of Castiel's feathers—injuries he had sustained from rescuing Dean from Hell. "Funny what hellfire does to angels. Gotta watch out for it."

He reached down to bury his fingers into the feathers and Castiel took the opportunity to slam his wing into the demon's face, causing him to fall back into the other demon.

"Don't touch them!" he snapped.

The dark-haired demon laughed as he stepped forward into the circle. "Aw, come now, little sparrow. Don't be such a prude. We promise to be gentle…or not."

He lunged and gripped Castiel's left wing and the angel fought, indignant anger rising in him as he was unable to get the upper hand with his hands chained so close to the floor and his less-than-angelic strength. He growled in frustration as the blond demon came back around to face him, pressing the bloodied angel blade against his throat again.

"So, I think you can see where this is going, Castiel," he said. "Tell me where Sam Winchester is or…" He moved the blade to trace over Castiel's slightly tattered primary feathers. "I clip your pretty wings." Castiel flinched as he sliced to the side with the sharp blade, the ends of several feathers fluttering to the floor. Castiel bit his lip. Too many more and he wouldn't be able to fly.

"So, what's it gonna be?" the demon leaned toward his face.

Castiel met his eyes defiantly. "My answer still stands," he bit out.

The blond demon shrugged. "Okay then. Don't say I didn't warn you." He nodded to his companion and the dark-haired demon suddenly grabbed three of Castiel's primaries and yanked them out with one tough jerk.

Castiel was unable to help crying out. It was possibly even worse than all the torments that had come before.

"Still a no?" the blond demon asked.

"No," Castiel said firmly through gritted teeth and the blond demon snagged his right wing this time, crudely hacking the feathers at the tip of his wing half-off. Castiel swallowed hard. That would definitely make sustained flight difficult.

"You know the drill. Still determined to wait until you're plucked like a Thanksgiving turkey?"

Castiel clenched his jaw, didn't say anything.

The blond demon pretended exasperation. "You angels; always too stubborn for your own good." He traced the blade down the arm of Castiel's wing now, and Castiel tensed as he felt his own weapon turned against him, scraping through his feathers and cutting some that stuck up. As the demon got to a place halfway between the joint and his back, he simply drove the angel blade into the meat of Castiel's wing.

Castiel screamed, his true voice coming out and causing the demons to step back, covering their ears. Castiel slumped forward, agony tearing through him.

"Sam Winchester, Castiel!" the blond demon snapped. "Tell me where he is!"

Castiel shook his head, still unable to form words, and the demon pressed the blade to his wing again in a different spot. Castiel bit back a whimper as he felt it pierce his flesh.

"Tell me!"

Just then, a phone rang and the dark-haired demon pulled a cell from his jacket pocket, looking at the caller ID before turning to the other demon with an odd expression on his face.

"It's the boss."

The blond demon glanced at Castiel before he stepped back and nodded off to one side of the warehouse. "Fine, we'll give him a chance to rethink his answer."

Castiel watched as they walked away, the dark-haired demon answering the phone. He could still hear their murmuring voices from the other side of the room, but couldn't make out any distinctive words. Still, this was likely the only chance he was going to get to even think of escape. He had a feeling the caller was Lucifer or at least someone closely connected with him, and if that was the case, then he had to get out of there and get the Winchesters out of town as soon as possible.

He looked around, yanking on the chains that bound his hands, wondering what he could possibly do to escape. Then he saw one of his own feathers that had been pulled out within the confines of the circle. He reached for it, straining against the chains, but finally snagged it after some effort. He glanced toward the demons again, and inverted the feather so that the quill was pointing toward the lock on the manacles. He bit his lip in concentration as he began to work the quill into the lock. It was a little big, and he eventually pulled it out, hurriedly grinding it against the sharp bracket that held the chain to the floor. Once it had gotten sharper, he tried again and finally heard the satisfying click as the manacle came undone.

He slipped his hand out and was able to release his second hand more easily. A good thing too because the call had ended and the demons were coming back. He crouched, trying to make it look like he was in the same position as before. Now he just needed to get out of this circle.

"Thought anymore about your answer, Castiel?" the blond demon asked as he stepped back into the circle.

"Yes," Castiel said, eyeing the blade as it dangled right in front of his face. Before the demon could move toward him again, Castiel lunged upright, and snagged the demon's wrist, wrenching it around to plunge the blade into his chest. The demon gasped in shock and sparked out, collapsing on the ground. Castiel spun just as the other demon lunged toward him, and slammed him across the face with the butt of his blade. As the demon stumbled backwards, Castiel bent and slashed the blade across the outside circle of the angel trap. He felt something pop and surged past the broken warding.

The demon snarled, surging upright and coming at him again. Castiel was ready for him though and swiftly sidestepped, slamming the blade into the demon's throat.

The second demon fell too, and Castiel stood panting, with his bloody angel blade in his hand. He just barely remembered that he still had his wings out. He tried to put them back onto the ethereal plane, but nothing happened. It seemed that whatever had initially locked his grace down was keeping his wings corporeal as well now that they had been manifested, although that could have just been a result of the second spell.

His wounds hurt, especially the stab wound in his wing, but there was no time to worry about himself right now. Lucifer might be on his way to town this very moment, and he couldn't afford to waste another minute.

He felt in his pockets for his cellphone, but it wasn't anywhere on his person. Perhaps the demons had taken it when they had captured him.

He then turned to the dark-haired demon and reached into his coat, pulling out the cell phone he had answered just a few minutes ago.

Castiel quickly dialed Dean's number and waited for it to ring only a couple times before the elder Winchester picked up. "Yeah?"

"Dean."

"Cas? Where the hell have you been? We were about ready to come there and see if something had happened to you."

"Don't go anywhere near the factory," Castiel said firmly, looking around as he limped outside of it himself, making sure there were no humans around. He wasn't sure how he would be able to explain his giant incorporeal wings. He started to button his shirt up clumsily, attempting to at least hide the blood, though it wasn't doing much and his wings had torn their way right through his shirt and coat.

"What do you mean? Cas, is something wrong?"

"Dean, I don't have time to explain, you just need to get Sam out of this town now," he forced all the urgency he could into his voice, praying that the stubborn hunter would just listen for once.

"Cas, where are you, are you alright?"

"There were some demons, I escaped," he said shortly. "But Dean, Lucifer is scheduled to show up, you take Sam and run!"

"What?" Dean shouted. "What the hell is going on?"

"Dean, just get to Bobby's and stay low for a while. I'll—I'll follow as soon as I can." He looked around again, wincing as he tried to test his wings. He may be able to fly if he was lucky, but he needed to get out of there now, maybe lead whatever demons where left in town away from the Winchesters so they could escape. He could feel their presence close by, though exactly how close he wasn't certain of. "I have to go, Dean. Be careful."

"Cas—"

Castiel ended the call and then looked at the phone. He didn't think demons would be able to track it, but then, you never knew when it came to demons. He swiftly threw it to the ground and stomped on it with a foot, smashing the phone to pieces. Sam and Dean wouldn't be able to reach him now, but perhaps that was better. He just hoped they would take his advice and get to Bobby's.

He really hoped that they wouldn't be stupid enough to try and find him.

Knowing he too was running out of time before backup showed up, he gingerly spread his wings, flapping a few times and cringing at the pain that shot through his injured wing though his back—not to mention his other injuries that didn't seem to be healing at all, thanks to his locked grace. He would have to make it though, he didn't have any other choice of transportation since he hadn't really learned how to drive a car—not that he could even fit into one with his wings like this.

He took a deep breath and leapt into the ether.

He didn't get far.

He was completely disoriented as to where he was when his wing gave out, collapsing against the pockets of air that usually pulled him along faster. He plunged out of the ether, plummeting faster than he had ever thought possible. First he saw the blue of sky, then he turned slowly, and saw fast approaching trees. He only had time to brace for impact, folding his wings tightly against his body and covering his head with his arms before he crashed into the forest.

Branches cracked and tore at him, slowing his fall gradually, as he fell through them before he came to a sudden halt on firm ground.

That was when he lost consciousness for the second time that day.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam looked over at Dean as soon as his brother cursed and slammed his phone down on the seat between them.

"What was that all about?" he asked. "Is Cas all right?"

"I don't know," Dean growled, his eyes were dark, but his face was strained. "He said something about getting jumped by demons, escaping from them but…he said that they were working for Lucifer."

Sam's stomach dropped instantly at the mention of the fallen archangel. He swallowed hard. "What do we do?"

"We get the hell out of Dodge, Sam, what do you think?" Dean demanded already pressing his foot further into the gas pedal, as he tore around a corner, causing Sam to grab onto the side of the door. "Cas said he'd meet us at Bobby's."

Sam pressed his lips into a thin line. "Dean, what if Cas was just trying to get us out of here and he's really still in trouble? You know he never asks for help. We should go to the warehouse just to make sure he's okay."

"It's freakin' Lucifer, Sam!" Dean shouted, hands gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles whitened. "I'm not gonna let him get you, and Cas doesn't want that either! He can take care of himself."

"Yeah, but he's no match for an archangel," Sam said firmly.

"And we are?" Dean asked incredulously.

Sam huffed. "No, but Dean, Cas is low on power—'cut off'—because he joined with us, the least we can do is give him a hand if more demons show up. I think we can handle a few of those."

Dean shook his head, but then made a sharp turn again. "Alright, you're right. Let's go pick up that idiot on the way out of town."

They made good time to the warehouse and Dean skidded the Impala to a stop outside the closed front door. He left the engine running in case they needed to make a quick getaway and then he and Sam got out and approached the building cautiously, Dean with his gun and an angel blade tucked through his belt, Sam with the demon knife.

Dean nodded to his brother and then kicked the door in.

Sam looked around as they got inside. It was dark, but the skylights gave them enough light to see their way around.

Sam caught sight of a body off to the right. "Dean, over here."

They made their way over, seeing not one, but two bodies lying on the ground around something that looked like an Enochian sigil. Sam crouched to inspect one of the bodies, saw its eyes burned out and smelled the sulfur. Between that and the triangle shaped stab wound in the middle of the corpse's chest, told him that this was likely Cas' handiwork.

"Demons," he confirmed for his brother as Dean was busy looking at something else.

"Sammy."

Sam instantly became alert at the tone of Dean's voice. He straightened up and joined Dean to inspect the strange circle. "What is this?"

"It's Enochian, right? so I'm gonna guess it can contain an angel." Dean crouched to touch a gouge in the cement floor that cut through the outer circle, then touched some of the blood that was spattered and smudged around the inside of the circle. "This doesn't look good."

"Think it's Cas'?" Sam asked, his throat tightening sickly as he also took note of the chains and manacles bolted in the middle of the circle.

"You think it's not?" Dean replied blandly, straightening up again and running a hand over his face. "Dammit, Cas. If he's hurt, why's he not here?"

But Sam wasn't listening because something else had already caught his eye. He reached under the chains and pulled out a long black feather, a curious frown furrowing his brow before something pinged with recognition inside his head.

"Uh, Dean…" he said slowly as he began to see more feathers, some whole, some just bits, scattered around the circle.

Dean glanced back over at him after kicking the demon's corpse. "What the hell is that?"

Sam swallowed hard. "I um….I think this might belong to Cas."

Dean frowned. "But…" and then suddenly recognition set in and his face paled. "Aw hell. You don't think they winged him, do you? Literally?"

"If he was he couldn't get out of here that fast," Sam said. "At least…I don't think he could."

"Unless he tried and he's crash landed somewhere," Dean sighed, running a hand over his face again. "Dammit, Cas."

"But how…"

Dean walked over to a bowl that looked like it had been used for a spell. "I'm gonna make a wild guess that if demons have found a way to trap an angel then they have something that can make them manifest their wings too," he said grimly.

Sam felt sick in the pit of his stomach just at the thought. "I'm guessing Lucifer's to thank for that."

"Yeah, no doubt," Dean said. "Speaking of, nothing more we can do here. If Cas isn't here, then he must be long gone and there's no point in hanging around if Lucifer could show up at any minute so I say we haul ass to Bobby's and try to track down that idiot angel of ours."

Sam nodded and followed his brother hurriedly out of the warehouse, back to the Impala.

He just really hoped they could find Cas in time, because even if he had escaped these demons, there was no telling how many more could be on his trail, and if he were injured…yeah, they had to find him soon before Lucifer did.

~~~~~~~

Castiel came to in the dark. It took him a while to realize he was outside and it was nighttime as opposed to him being somewhere simply dark, or worse, blind. But eventually he could make out the light of a half moon and stars trickling down through the branches of the trees that had slowed his fall earlier. Some branches had come down with him and he was lying among them. He took a deep breath, coughing spontaneously as his chest spasmed in pain. Once he got his breathing under control, he began to take stock of his body.

He hurt, pretty much everywhere—that was the first thing he noticed. Besides that, he was also aware of his wings, still corporeal, and his grace, still locked down. Fear gripped at his chest, as he wondered whether both were indeed permanent instead of just temporary as he had hoped.

Permanent or not, he needed to find some sort of shelter while he rested from his injuries. He would be no help to Sam and Dean if he was captured again and he was sure that demons would be on his trail eventually. He could tell his location from the stars and knew he was only about thirty miles from the town they had been hunting in, somewhere rural, he figured, since there was mostly woodland around him.

Carefully, and very slowly, he sat up, somehow managing to not sit on his wings as he did so. They were miraculously unbroken from the fall, in fact, apart from a few cracked ribs that he was almost certain he had from one violent meeting with a tree, he was pretty positive that he hadn't broken any other bones.

Well, he was until he stood up.

Pain shot through his ankle and he nearly collapsed again, but managed to catch himself on the trunk of a nearby tree. He suppressed a shout of pain, nearly biting through his lip to do so, as he adjusted his footing and tried to stand again. But there was just no way he could bear weight on that foot. His ankle was most certainly broken.

Castiel wanted to scream in frustration. He couldn't fly, he couldn't walk, and he had gotten rid of the one communication he had with Sam and Dean so he couldn't even see if they were all right, nor could he go to their aid—if he could even figure out where they were.

He was going to be stuck until whatever the demons had done to him had worn off and he was able to heal again. But without knowing exactly what they had done to him, he had no way of knowing how long that would take. No way of knowing if Lucifer had already found the Winchesters. Castiel didn't even want to entertain that notion.

He grabbed one of the branches that had been knocked down during his fall and used it as a cane to hobble along. He didn't know what direction he was going in, but he knew he had to find shelter, any sort of shelter he could in whatever state it was in. He was in a rural area, so maybe there was a cabin or a barn he could take shelter in.

It wasn't long before he found just the thing, almost shocked that there was actually something that had gone right for him that night. Up ahead in the moonlight, he could see a small cabin in among the trees. It looked to be the perfect place for him to rest.

He staggered toward it, sending a prayer of thanks to his absent Father, and fumbled with the doorknob. It wasn't locked, just latched shut, which was a little odd, but he wasn't going to question that, not when he was so weary.

It was small and rather cozy. He couldn't make out much in the silvery moonlight, but he did feel a cushy rug under his feet, nearly tripped over a small, oddly low table, and just barely managed to collapse onto a couch set at the back of the cabin.

The ragged piece of furniture felt like the most lovely thing he had ever rested on to his aching body at that moment. He groaned slightly, propping his injured foot up on one end and his cheek on the other. His feet hung over the side, the couch being rather small, and his wings sprawled to either side of him, but he could move not an inch further and this was all he needed for shelter as it was.

However, with one last effort, he forced himself upright once more, and dug his fingers with a grunt onto a stab wound in his side, and painted several warding sigils on the window behind him. Against both angels and demons. He couldn't be too careful. Besides, if Lucifer was out there…

With those small precautions made, he slumped back on the couch and settled in an instant. His eyes slid shut and before he knew it, he was slipping away into sleep.

~~~~~~~

Maddie was bored. It was only a month into summer vacation, and while she didn't really enjoy school, there just seemed to be so much less going on right now, and all of her friends had gone off on family trips while she was stuck there, in the most boring place in the whole world, probably.

She sat at the kitchen table, a forgotten coloring book in front of her, and sighed deeply.

Her mother came into the room, giving her an askance look. "Maddie, you can't just sit there all summer. Don't you have anything you want to do?"

"I want to play with my friends but they're all gone." Maddie informed her with another deep sigh. "And it's too hot to ride my bike, and I'm tired of coloring!"

It was her mother's turn to sigh. "Why don't you take a book to your clubhouse? It will be a nice quiet place to read and will give you a change of scene."

Maddie considered this. "But the clubhouse is where me, Emily, and Leah play, it's not as much fun to go alone."

"How about I pack some lemonade and cookies?" her mom negotiated.

Maddie brightened slightly at that idea. She did like lemonade and cookies. "Well, okay, I guess."

"Alright." Her mom packed a little basket with the snack and handed it to Maddie. The young girl grabbed a book she had been reading— a Nancy Drew mystery—and skipped out the door toward the woods that lined the back of the house.

Her clubhouse had been an old garden shed on their property that her dad and uncle had fixed up for her last year for her birthday. Maddie usually loved to play in it with her best friends, Leah and Emily, but now both the girls were off on vacations with their families and Maddie was, as usual, left all alone.

Still, despite the lemonade and cookies, she sighed again as she approached the light violet clubhouse with white trim. Adults always seemed to think children should have infinite enjoyment but being eight was hard, and sometimes it could be so boring!

But as she got to the door, she instantly saw something was wrong. There was a smudge of something dark on the doorframe and the door was also slightly ajar. She hadn't left it like that the last time she had gone to the clubhous—at least she didn't think she had. And she certainly hadn't left anything nasty on the door.

Sudden anger flared inside of Maddie as she had the thought that Jesse Trenton and his no-good friends might have come to mess up her clubhouse. But she had been careful not to ever let them know about it, or even talk about it around them, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be there, even though she wouldn't put it past them—unless Emily or Leah had let the secret out…

Suddenly cautious, she almost ran back to tell her mom, but then thought about what Nancy Drew would do to solve this mystery. Nancy would never back down from an investigation. So she took a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly and crept in, peeking around the corner in case someone—or something—might be in there.

Of course, she didn't really expect it to be occupied.

Maddie wasn't quite sure what was wrong at first because it was somewhat dark in the clubhouse due to the surrounding tree cover. She flipped on the little lantern by the door and held it up to inspect the dark lump at the back by her couch. She froze.

Maddie took a moment to take in the strange scene. First all she registered was a man asleep on her couch. Fear drove her heart into her throat and she almost stumbled back out of the door, afraid of all the stories about 'stranger danger' her mother had told her about, but then she noticed something even stranger than just a man lying on her clubhouse couch.

He was surrounded by huge black feathers but…no, more than that, they were in the shape of wings! And they were coming out of rips in the back of the man's long coat!

Maddie gasped, dropping the lantern with a clatter, sending light and shadows spinning around the small place.

The man with wings started, his eyes flying open. The only thing that Maddie noticed then was just how blue his eyes were. The blue eyes widened as the man saw her standing there, and Maddie could only let out a scream.

~~~~~~~

Castiel started awake to an abrupt sound. He flinched, dragging his eyes open as a rush of pure adrenaline replaced his usual surge of grace as he came out of his stupor.

He expected demons, maybe even angels—at best, perhaps Sam and Dean had somehow found him—but the last thing he had expected was to be faced with a human child.

She appeared to have dropped a lantern, which was currently spinning around at her feet while she stared at him open-mouthed, and then he remembered—his wings…

That was when she screamed.

Castiel instantly pushed himself up, or attempted to, he was still very weak, his ankle was injured, and his wings continued to get in the way, his injured feathers smashing against the small space where the couch was pushed against the wall. He wasn't used to having them corporeal while in a vessel. It just wasn't something that was normally done.

"Please, I'm not here to hurt you," he tried to assure her, although he knew he must look a fright. It was one thing for a child to be confronted by a man with wings, another when that man was covered in blood and still bleeding from various injuries.

Her lip trembled and she took a step back as he finally pulled himself to his feet, holding up his hands to reassure her. That was when he remembered his injured ankle. It buckled under him and he collapsed with a bitten off cry, barely catching himself on the edge of the couch before he fell completely to the floor.

That seemed to catch the girl's attention. She halted her retreat, looking at him, still cautious, but with more interest now than fear.

"Are…are you hurt?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"I…yes," Castiel admitted in defeat as he was forced to lower himself to sit on the couch again and somehow managed to situate his wings so that he wasn't sitting on them. "I…ran into some trouble. I apologize for breaking in here, I wasn't aware it belonged to anyone."

"Y-you have w-wings," she said, her voice still trembling.

Castiel cocked his head to one side, finding it interesting, yet not surprising that that was all she had taken away from this. Humans tended to mostly focus on the oddities they weren't used to, so even a strange bleeding man found by a little girl paled in comparison to the fact that he had wings. "Yes, I do."

"Are you an angel?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Castiel ducked his head slightly, trying not to seem too ashamed at the moment. "Yes, I am, though…a rather poor example of one. Especially at the moment."

The girl looked less scared then, and bent to pick up the lantern, bringing it closer to Castiel and taking a few cautious steps further toward him. "My name's Maddie. What's yours?"

"I…um…Castiel," he replied, inspecting the girl—Maddie—closer. She was very young, perhaps only seven or eight years old and had reddish blond hair in two ponytails and a good dose of freckles on her face. She looked so innocent he was even more ashamed of her having seen him here in what he could now see was a place that could only belong to a little girl, and in his current state. He thought guiltily of the sigils he had painted in blood on the window, the blood he had stained the couch with too, but it was better that demons hadn't found him, especially if there was a child nearby.

"Castiel," she replied slowly, seeming to test the name out. "I like that name."

"Thank you," Castiel replied, unsure of what else to say. "Maddie is a very nice name as well."

Maddie looked around, setting her lantern on a small table to one side of the couch—the one Castiel had tripped over in the dark the night before. "This is my clubhouse, but…you can stay here if you need to. I guess it would be okay, since you're an angel. Mommy and Daddy probably won't mind."

Castiel felt some alarm at the thought of the child's parents finding out about him. He knew that humans typically didn't appreciate strange men spending time with their children, even if they meant no harm. He was sure that would extend even to angels. "Maddie, perhaps it's best they don't know I'm here," he said quickly.

She considered it a moment and then nodded as if in agreement. "You're probably right. I don't think they would believe me anyway."

Castiel was taking stock of his body as she talked, trying to summon even a fraction of his grace so he could start healing his injuries, but it would simply not come to him. It was still locked far away and his body was aching more than it probably ever had before.

"Oh!" Maddie said suddenly, startling him, but she only rushed back to the door where a small basket sat tipped on its side—probably another thing she had dropped upon seeing him there. She quickly retrieved it and brought it back over to him. "There's some cookies and lemonade here, would you like some?"

"Oh, I…don't eat," Castiel said, but even as the words came out of his mouth, a dry spot began in his throat, and he felt suddenly parched. "But I might have some lemonade."

That seemed to perk Maddie up and she hurried to a small cupboard in one corner of the cabin and pulled out a little plastic tea set. She took out two cups, set them on the little table and pulled a bottle of lemonade from the basket. Then she poured the drinks and handed one to Castiel. "Here."

He took the small object carefully in his hands and brought it to his lips. The lemonade was tart and sweet at the same time, and he found it rather pleasing. The cool liquid also helped soothe the dry patch in his throat.

"Thank you," he told the little girl who smiled at him genuinely for the first time.

"Castiel," she said after a few sips of her own. "How did you end up in my clubhouse?"

Castiel bit his lip, not wanting to tell the girl about demons, but it looked like he wasn't going to be going anywhere until this spell wore off since he couldn't walk or fly at the moment, and he wasn't sure if there might not be demons still looking for him. She should at least know to be cautious.

"I'm…fighting a war," he told her and instantly regretted it when he saw her eyes widen. Perhaps that had been too straightforward. He really wished Sam and Dean were there. They were much better with children than he was. "But you don't have to be afraid," he assured her quickly. "Myself and a few others are doing everything we can to stop it. But last night I ran into some of my enemies and I was… injured in a fight."

"Your wing…" Maddie said, her eyes falling onto his bloodstained feathers with a look of pure sympathy that only a child could give. "That looks like it hurts."

"It is rather uncomfortable," Castiel admitted. "But yes, my wing was injured, and I tried to fly away but… I fell. This was the nearest place I found, and I apologize for startling you."

Maddie smiled at him. "That's okay, Castiel. Now that I know you're a good guy, I don't mind you at all."

Castiel smiled back. "Well, thank you. I don't mind you either."

She giggled at that. "No one will bother you if you stay here. You can't even see my house from here."

"I appreciate it, Maddie, but I really can't risk putting you and your family in danger," Castiel told her sincerely even though he wasn't sure where he would go, or how far he could make it in his condition. "I don't know if the…men who hurt me will have picked up my trail."

Maddie scrunched up her face. "Why would they look for you here? If they're bad men, I don't think they would look in a girly clubhouse, right? Bad guys usually aren't that smart anyway. That's why Nancy Drew always catches them."

Castiel wasn't sure who Nancy Drew was but he nodded. Maddie was right about demons at least—they were not very smart—but Lucifer… "You're probably right about that."

"You really should stay, Castiel," Maddie insisted. "I don't think it would be good of me not to let an angel stay here."

Castiel smiled slightly at that as she continued. "Besides, you're hurt and you can't go out there where the bad guys are when you can't even stand or fly. At least stay until you feel better."

Castiel saw the genuine concern in her face and for some reason caved. "Very well, I suppose it would be best to stay for a couple days. Thank you for your hospitality, Maddie."

She beamed and picked up the bottle of lemonade again. "More lemonade?"

Castiel held out his cup to be refilled.

He sat for the next hour listening to Maddie chat happily about various things. He was fascinated by her. He had spent a bit of time now on earth with humans, but hadn't been around many children even though he had always been very fond of them. He found their innocence and straightforwardness refreshing, and seeing how innocent Maddie was, made him realize even more what he and the Winchesters were fighting for. There would be no place for a child's innocence in a world ruled by Lucifer or Michael.

"Castiel," Maddie said after a while. "Are you a guardian angel?"

Castiel cocked his head to one side. "Well, all angels are meant to be shepherds of humanity. We are to look out for them. But, some of us do take on particular charges—certain people who we look out for."

"Do you have any?" she asked, those wide green eyes bright again.

Castiel couldn't help but smile at her. "Yes, I have two very important men in my charge. I believe they will be the ones to stop this war."

Maddie's eyes widened. "Wow, you must be a really important angel!"

Castiel looked down, a deep sadness settling in his chest. "Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"But you must be," she insisted. "If you're protecting the men who will save the world that makes you a hero!"

Again, childlike innocence was so refreshing. "Well, thank you." He didn't have the heart to tell her that being a hero was not like how it was written about in stories and movies. He hoped she never had to find out the truth about that.

Eventually, Maddie looked out the window. "Oh! I should probably get back home. Mommy will be making dinner soon."

Castiel nodded. "Yes, you should not cause her worry."

She picked up her backset and loaded the empty lemonade bottle into it before hesitating. "Will you be okay here? I don't think the couch would be very comfortable with wings…"

"I'll be alright," Castiel assured her.

"Can I bring you anything? To help fix your hurt wing and foot?"

"Perhaps just some water to wash with," Castiel said, again realizing how badly stained his clothes were since he couldn't use his grace to clean and repair them.

Maddie nodded. "Okay! I'll be back tomorrow morning. Will you…will you still be here?" she added hesitantly.

Castiel smiled at her. "Probably."

She smiled again. "Good! Sleep tight, Castiel!"

"You too, Maddie," Castiel replied. "And remember, be careful. If any strange men or women come around, do not talk to them, and do not let them into your house. If they do get in….take salt and go to a room and shut the door and then pour a line of salt in front of it and on the windowsills. It will keep you safe."

"Salt?" Maddie asked with a frown. "Why?"

"Because the men I am fighting are not human either," Castiel told her sincerely. "And salt keeps bad things out. Like those." He pointed to the sigils he had drawn on the window.

Maddie still frowned but she nodded. "Okay, I'll remember that. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Maddie," Castiel told her and she waved at him before she closed the door behind her.

Castiel felt almost lonely after she was gone and tried to situate himself more comfortably on the couch in the silence. Now he just wished he could figure out what the demons did to him and how to fix it.

He also really hoped that Sam and Dean were safe.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean pulled up the road to Bobby's house, gripping the wheel tightly. His stomach was in a knot as he hoped by some miracle that Cas would be there waiting for them.

Sam had been trying to call the angel the whole drive there, but couldn't get a hold of him, not on his own cell phone, or the one that Dean had gotten the call from earlier. Not that the guy was really tech savvy, but still.

He shut the Impala's engine off as he pulled up in front of Bobby's garage and then he and Sam got out and made their way to the house, letting themselves in so that Bobby wouldn't have to roll his chair all the way to the door.

"Bout time you idjits got back," the older hunter greeted gruffly as they came into the study where Bobby was working at his computer. "Finally get to the bottom of that demon hunt?"

Dean felt his stomach knot more as Cas was obviously not there. "Yeah, we kinda got distracted." He tossed his bag onto the couch. "You heard from Cas?"

Bobby looked up with a frown. "Thought Feathers was with you?"

Dean shook his head. "We split up to cover more ground, Cas got jumped and then hit the road before Sam and I could get to him. I guess he thought the demons would be after him and he could lead them away."

"Damned idjit," Bobby muttered but there was concern in his voice too.

"What's worse is we think he might be injured," Sam added. "And…his wings might be visible too."

Bobby's eyebrows shot up. "Why would you think that?"

"Because we found these where he was jumped by the demons," Dean said and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the feathers that had been in the warehouse. He'd decided to keep them, not wanting to risk the demons, or Lucifer himself, being able to track Cas with them. He wasn't entirely sure what angel feathers were good for, but he knew they were rare and used in spells.

"Balls," Bobby said in awe.

"He also said the demons who captured him were waiting for Lucifer," Dean added grimly. "Which is why we decided the best idea would be to get the hell out of there."

"We think it was a trap from the beginning," Sam added as he sank tiredly into a chair. "The demons were killing people to get our attention, to get me there." He trailed off and Dean didn't like the pallor that had come over him. If he ever found Lucifer he was going to give that dick something to remember him by before the archangel smote the crap out of him.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Bobby asked, getting them back on track.

"Find Cas, first of all," Dean said. "If he's not here, then he's probably in trouble."

"You sure he's not just trying to keep the demons off your back? Oh, and Lucifer too?" Bobby asked. "That is why he ran in the first place, isn't it? Maybe you should stay away from him instead of running headlong into a potential trap."

"But if he's hurt and his wings are corporeal, then he's probably stranded, hiding out somewhere," Sam insisted. "He may really need help and you know he's not exactly going to ask for it."

Bobby sighed resignedly. "Well, I guess we'll just have to help the idjit then. Got any idea where he might be?"

Dean snorted, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. "He could be fricken' anywhere right now. Unless…" He glanced at the desk and picked up one of the feathers. He'd been afraid Lucifer might be able to track Cas with them, but what if they could do the same? "Hey Bobby, got any tracking spells that might work to find an angel?"

~~~~~~~

Maddie couldn't believe a real angel was currently living in her clubhouse! She had been so excited last night that she had found it hard to keep her excitement hidden from her parents. Castiel had asked her not to tell, and she knew exactly what her parents would say if they found out anyway, but still…it was so exciting! Finally something interesting was happening this summer!

She was up at the crack of dawn the next morning and crept out of her room with her picnic basket. As quietly as she could so as not to wake her mom and dad, she gathered the things that she thought Castiel might need. First she found the first aid kit in the bathroom cupboard, hoping that it would have what Castiel needed to help his wing. But he also had an injured ankle; Maddie thought it might be broken, and she knew that you had to wrap up broken bones. So she added a long roll of bandage to her basket, hoping that might help.

Remembering how he had said he wanted to wash, she put several washcloths into the basket as well and would bring a bucket of water from the hose outside.

Now, for other things…

Castiel had said he didn't eat, but he had seemed to enjoy the lemonade, so Maddie packed another bottle of that and then began to make him a PB&J sandwich—her favorite. Even if he didn't normally eat, she was sure he would like that.

She also added several of the Nancy Drew books she had already read, thinking he may like something to pass the time. She wasn't sure what angels liked to read, but who wouldn't like Nancy Drew?

Then it was just a matter of waiting until her mom and dad woke up so she wouldn't seem too eager to rush off to the clubhouse. They probably wouldn't notice anything unusual since they never did, but she couldn't be too careful. She was becoming more and more taken with the idea of her secret angel and didn't want to share him. Not even with Emily and Leah if they had been there.

To pass the time, she sat and read on the couch until her mom got up, blinking blearily at her as she saw Maddie already up.

"You're up early," she commented.

Maddie shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant. "I couldn't sleep anymore."

Her mom didn't seem to think that was too odd, thankfully, and went to make coffee. Maddie waited impatiently while her dad got ready for work and left, kissing her on the head. That was when her mom usually went to her office to work on the computer.

"Mommy, I'm going to my clubhouse, okay?" Maddie told her, holding her breath as she waited to see what her mom would say.

"Okay, honey, have fun. Just come back for lunch, okay?"

"Okay!" Maddie called and ran to grab her basket and hurry out the back door toward the woods.

As she got to the clubhouse, she was half afraid that Castiel might have left after all, but when she opened the door, he was still there, sitting on the couch where she had left him the night before.

"Good morning, Castiel!" she called to him.

He smiled slightly as he saw her. "Good morning, Maddie."

"I brought you some things to help fix your hurt wing and ankle," Maddie told him, setting the basket down on her little table and pulling out the first aid things she had gathered. "I'm going to get you some water."

She ran back to her house and filled a bucket with water before carrying it carefully back to the clubhouse. She tried not to spill it, but some of it still sloshed onto her shoes.

"Thank you, Maddie," Castiel told her as she set the bucket of water down in front of him, along with the wash cloths. He wet one and began to clean blood off of his coat with it. Maddie scrunched her face up slightly, seeing it better in the morning light that came into the cabin windows. Castiel had more than just the wound on his wing and the injured ankle. There were tears in his shirt under his coat that were red from blood. She wondered briefly how an angel could even get hurt, but didn't want to ask Castiel about that. She thought that might be rude.

Castiel noticed her watching him then, and a pained look crossed his face, one she recognized from when her parents realized she had seen or heard something they thought she probably would find distressing. Maddie was made of sterner stuff than that, though. She put her hands on her hips to show Castiel just that.

"It will probably be hard to reach your wing yourself," she said matter-of-factly. "Can I help?"

Castiel shook his head quickly. "Oh, no, Maddie, there's no need for you to help with this. It—it will only take a moment…"

Maddie pulled another washcloth from the basket and wet it in the bucket before climbing onto the couch with determination.

Castiel flinched slightly as she reached out to touch his wing and she pulled her hand away quickly. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "Do you not want me to touch it? Does it hurt really bad?"

Castiel seemed to soften at the sound of her concern. "No, it's…alright. But you don't have to—"

"I want to help," she insisted and shifted so that she could see the blood crusting the feathers around a deep wound. Maddie swallowed hard. "This looks like it hurts."

"It does," he admitted with a sigh.

Maddie carefully reached out and touched him. Castiel's wing shifted slightly, but he didn't tell her to move her hand. His feathers were soft and strong, though some of them looked a bit ragged like the old ones she would sometimes find out in the woods. Some of Castiel's even looked like they had been burned. She frowned as she gently pressed the cloth to the bloody feathers and began to wipe and dab gently, remembering how her mom had cleaned the bad scrapes she had gotten on her knee and elbow when she fell off her bike. Castiel tensed slightly, but he didn't make a sound.

"Am I hurting you?" she asked worriedly.

"It's okay, Maddie," Castiel told her, and he resumed his own wound cleaning as she went on.

It took a while to fully clean the blood from his feathers, and several of them fell loose. Maddie took them and put them in her pocket, deciding that she would keep them as a reminder for when Castiel left.

Finally, Castiel's wing was clean and he had finished cleaning most of the blood from his coat, which was now damp. Maddie jumped off the couch.

"Do you need a bandage on your wing?" she asked, though wasn't sure how they would manage that.

Castiel shook his head. "No, it should be fine like that. Thank you for helping. It probably would have been difficult to clean it myself."

Maddie smiled, happy she had been able to help her new friend, and went over to the basket again. "I brought a bandage wrap for your ankle. You should really wrap it up tight if it's broken. It will make it hurt less. Least that's what my mommy says."

Castiel nodded slowly. "You're probably right. This is…new to me, I'll admit."

"What is?" Maddie asked, pulling the rolled bandage out of the basket.

"Not being able to heal myself," Castiel admitted and she thought he sounded a bit sad, or lost. "Angels have this… thing…our grace. It is our essence, it gives us our powers. But mine is not what it once was."

"What happened to it?" Maddie asked, sad for Castiel, seeing the look on his face.

"I had to make a choice," he told her. "It was the right one, but oftentimes the right choices come with a price higher than the wrong ones. So my grace is weakened, and after I was captured, the…bad guys…did something that locked it away so I can't even heal myself now."

Maddie gasped. "So that's why you got hurt?" she asked.

Castiel nodded. "Yes, I was hoping the spell they used might wear off on it's own, but now I'm not so sure. It has already been longer than I expected."

Maddie frowned. "What if there's another spell that can undo it?"

"If there is, I have no way of getting the ingredients."

"I can get them!" Maddie insisted.

Castiel smiled. "That's very kind of you, but they wouldn't be easy to find." He bent to take his shoe off his injured foot, and was disturbed to find his ankle had swollen rather alarmingly. No wonder it hurt so bad.

"Ouch, that looks like it hurts," Maddie said with concern as she bent to look at it. "Maybe I should bring you some ice."

Castiel grunted slightly as he shifted to prop his foot up on the couch and took the bandage from her. "I probably should have elevated it."

Maddie watched as he carefully wrapped the bandage around his ankle, his face creased in pain. She pursed her lips. "Can you call your friends?"

Castiel shook his head. "I lost my phone, and they are warded. With my powers locked down I don't think I can even visit them in their dreams. Besides, it's best we stay separated right now. I don't want the…bad guys to find them. That's why I came here in the first place."

Maddie cocked her head to one side, folding her arms over her chest. "But what if the bad guys have already found them. They might need their guardian angel. Besides, maybe they can get ingredients to break the spell."

A look Maddie thought might be fear flashed over Castiel's face briefly before he pressed his lips together. "Still, I will get back to them eventually. You haven't heard of anything strange happening in the nearby towns, have you?"

Maddie shook her head. "No, why?"

"Because that might mean the bad guys are near," he told her, then looked up from his ankle. His blue eyes met hers and sent a slight shiver down her spine at their intensity. "If you do hear anything on the news, anything odd or troubling that happens nearby, can you tell me?"

Maddie nodded swiftly. "Yes."

"Thank you," Castiel said and finished wrapping his ankle. Maddie looked at it.

"Is that better?" she asked.

Castiel flexed his foot slightly, winced, but nodded. "It does feel somewhat improved."

"Good," Maddie smiled and turned back to the basket pulling out the sandwich and lemonade. "I know you said you don't eat, but I thought you might like a PB&J."

Castiel frowned. "I…what is it?"

"You've never heard of peanut butter and jelly?" Maddie asked incredulously as she handed him the sandwich. "Try it!"

She watched as Castiel unwrapped the sandwich and took a tentative bite, then looked surprised, and took another.

"Well?" she asked.

"It…doesn't taste like molecules as expected," he said. Maddie thought that was an odd thing to say. "It is…rather pleasant."

She beamed. "Told you you would like it."

They shared the lemonade as Maddie sat on one of the chairs at the small table, watching as Castiel tried to settle his wings into a position where they didn't get in the way of the back of the couch or the corner.

"Is it hard to have wings?" she asked him.

Castiel sighed slightly. "Yes, usually they are not visible and therefor not in a physical state. Having them like this, they are…difficult to maneuver."

Maddie took a slow sip of her lemonade before she asked more quietly, "Did they get burned?"

Castiel's shoulders stiffened and she regretted asking instantly. But he still nodded. "Yes."

"Did that hurt?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "It did, but…again, it was necessary."

"How did it happen?"

Castiel was silent for so long Maddie didn't think he was going to answer but then he finally did. "I had to rescue someone very important—one of my charges, my friends—from…from a very bad place. It wasn't an easy journey."

"But you needed him to save the world?" Maddie asked.

Castiel nodded. "Yes, Dean and Sam—they are the only hope we have left right now. I don't ever regret saving them."

"I bet they feel the same about you," Maddie told him.

Castiel turned to her, cocking his head slightly.

"You should call them and tell them what happened," she insisted.

Castiel shook his head. "Perhaps if this lasts much longer…I won't have much of a choice. But I cannot risk them for my own safety."

Maddie wasn't sure she quite understood that, but she figured that Castiel knew what he was doing. She stood and grabbed her basket. "I need to go back home for lunch, but I brought you some books so you don't get bored. Have you read Nancy Drew?"

Castiel shook his head, slightly bemused. "No."

"She's my favorite," Maddie told him and set several books on the couch beside him. "They're really exciting and fun to read. It will help you pass the time."

Castiel smiled and took one of the books in his hands, studying the cover. "Thank you, Maddie. You have already done more than enough."

"I don't mind," she said sincerely. "I'll see you later!"

She hurried back to the house, thinking of all the things that Castiel had told her. She went up to her room and took the black feathers from her pocket, putting them on her desk in her pencil cup. They shone iridescent in the sunlight that came through her window. She traced a finger down one of them. Maybe she could figure out a way to get into contact with Castiel's friends. After all, there wasn't much she could do all by herself to help him, and she really thought he could use some help right about now.

~~~~~~~

Dean groaned as the newest spell they tried burned out with no results, just like the previous five.

"Still no luck, dammit," he cursed, running a hand over his face as he paced a bit, trying to think. "He's got to have warded himself."

"That's the most likely conclusion," Bobby said grimly. "But I've got a couple more here if you want to try them out as well."

Dean looked at the dwindling collection of feathers on the desk. Maybe the feathers were what was messing the spell up, being powerful objects in themselves. But he didn't have anything else of Cas' to use—seriously, the dude didn't exactly have personal possessions aside from the clothes on his back and his angel blade, so it wasn't like he'd left anything lying around.

But Lucifer or no Lucifer, Sam was right. If demons were on Cas' trail, then they needed to find him sooner, rather than later. Even though he really didn't want to simply walk into whatever trap Satan might have set for them, especially with Sam in tow.

"Let's try it," he said and helped Bobby put the ingredients together.

This time though, when he spread them over the map and lit the ingredients plus the feather on fire, something actually happened, and the flames consumed the map before stopping at one place and going out instantly.

Dean, Sam and Bobby all leaned forward to look.

"Southern Minnesota, great," Dean said with a sigh. "Well, that gives us a ballpark, but we still don't have an exact location."

"No, but it's a good place to start," Sam said, already going over to where his and Dean's duffle bags were, and began rummaging through his. "Once we're there we may be able to track him in other ways, especially if demons are after him. They're not exactly subtle."

Dean agreed and packed his own bag, grabbing the tiny scrap of map. It was about a fifty-mile radius. Not the best search area he could hope for but it was something, and at least Cas wasn't too far away. Though why he hadn't just come a little further to Sioux Falls, Dean didn't understand.

Unless he couldn't. Because he was injured, or hiding, or worse…captured again.

Dean shook his head, not allowing himself to think those thoughts right now and turned to Bobby. "We'll let you know when we find anything."

"You idjits just be careful, ya hear?" Bobby called as they started out the door. "If the devil's out there too…"

"I know," Dean said. "And we will be."

He closed the door and he and Sam headed out to the Impala. A few seconds later, they were tearing down the road, on their way to Minnesota.


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel spent the day alternating between dozing and reading the books that Maddie had brought him. He did have to admit that they were diverting, if nothing else, and did help to pass the time. He thought he might actually like to do more reading in the future as he had never really had the opportunity for it. Perhaps it could be something he could occupy his time with while the Winchesters slept from now on—that would probably make Dean at least happy since the elder Winchester was always complaining about how "creepy" it was to sleep while someone was just staring at you. That is, until Castiel inevitably had to sleep every night as well, which was likely to happen sooner rather than later. If his grace continued to wane, he probably wouldn't be too far off from how he felt now in the aftermath of the demons' spell.

But even though he attempted to divert himself with the books as well as he could, worry still continued to gnaw at his stomach. Sam and Dean were most likely looking for him because they could never do as they were told—and also because he knew that's what he would do in their position. He thought perhaps he should just call them and they could hopefully make it to Bobby's house before the demons could catch up to them. But if they didn't, then all three of them would be captured, and there would be no one left to make a rescue attempt. And Lucifer would have leverage with both Dean and Castiel there, to make Sam do whatever he wanted.

Meanwhile, Castiel was stuck here, still without any sign of either spell wearing off, helpless. He had tried walking around after Maddie left to see if the wrapping had improved his ankle, but though it had helped the pain, it still didn't do much for walking, and he had been forced to retreat to the couch again.

Another sunset came and he anxiously checked the sigils he had put on the window. He was sure that they would keep him hidden from spells, but if any demons came specifically to find him it wouldn't keep them out for long. Perhaps he should have asked Maddie for some salt.

He also wished that he had taken Maddie up on her offer to call Sam and Dean. If they were out looking for him anyway, perhaps it would be better just to tell them where he was—wherever exactly that might be. Perhaps that would keep them from getting on Lucifer's radar and they could make their way to Bobby's house as planned and be more secure.

He was startled from those thoughts as he heard light footsteps coming toward the cabin. He frowned. It sounded like Maddie but it was rather late, and almost completely dark out.

He put a hand to his angel blade, just to be on the safe side, as the door to the cabin jiggled and then opened.

But it was just Maddie after all. Castiel breathed a short breath of relief as she came in and closed the door behind her, a smile on her freckled face.

"You shouldn't be out here this late," Castiel admonished.

She gave a somewhat guilty look, but held up the basket she usually carried with her. "I just wanted to bring you something else to eat, and see if you were still okay. Do you need any more bandages?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, thank you. I think I will be okay."

"Does you wing still hurt bad?" Maddie asked sincerely.

Castiel shrugged his wings as if to test the theory. "It's not as bad as it was."

She smiled at that too, but also looked a little sad. She set the basket down and pulled out a wrapped sandwich and handed it to him. Castiel took it with a small smile, and put it in his lap to eat later. Maddie sighed and Castiel cocked his head at her.

"Is something wrong, Maddie?"

She shrugged. "It's just, you'll go away soon, and I'll miss you."

Castiel smiled gently at her. "I'm afraid I have to go. This war needs all the soldiers that are willing."

"I know, but I'll probably never see you again."

"You don't know that," Castiel told her. "When the war is over I'll…likely have much time on my hands. I wouldn't mind coming to visit you."

Maddie perked up at that and the smile reappeared on her face. "Really?"

"Yes. Really," he told her.

"Can you bring your friends too?" she asked. "Sam and Dean? I want to meet them!"

Castiel smiled. "I'm sure they would like to meet you too." He thought a moment, then said, "Perhaps, if it is okay, I will call them tomorrow."

Maddie nodded. "Sure, my mom works in the office all morning usually. If you come to the house you could use the phone and she'd never know."

Castiel wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he did need to get into contact with Sam and Dean, and this was the only way he could do so without even the ability to visit them in their dreams at the moment. He could probably manage to get to the house with a walking stick.

"Alright, thank you, Maddie," he told her. "Thank you for the sandwich as well, but you should probably get back home. It's dark outside."

Maddie glanced out the window and nodded in agreement. "Yes, I will. I'll see you tomorrow, Castiel. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Maddie," Castiel replied as Maddie smiled and waved at him as she skipped out the door with her basket.

Castiel settled back on the couch as comfortably as he could and took up the book he had been reading again. Then he opened the sandwich up and took a bite. He really did enjoy the combination of peanut butter and grape jelly. Perhaps not everything about his fallen state would be terrible.

But he still had a gnawing worry in his stomach that something was impending and he didn't like it at all. Yes, tomorrow he would get in contact with the Winchesters. He was anxious to know if they were safe.

~~~~~~~

Sam furrowed his brow as Dean drove into Minnesota, heading toward the area that the spell had left on the map.

"Do you think it's in the exact center of the unburned piece?" Sam asked, one of their road maps of the area spread over his knees, holding the burned piece up to it and checking the surrounding areas for places that might be more likely for Cas to be hiding out in.

Dean shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, maybe? We can start in the middle in any case." He glanced at the fuel gage and cursed. "Need to stop for gas first though. May as well catch a bite to eat too, while we're at it."

"Okay, that will give me a chance to check online for any local weirdness. If we can track a lot of demon activity then it may mean they're looking for Cas too," Sam said and folded the map up. He glanced over, seeing Dean's clenched jaw, fists tight on the wheel. "We'll find him, Dean," he offered quietly.

His brother's jaw twitched slightly but he didn't say anything. Sam sighed inwardly but couldn't really blame him. At the moment it wasn't so much the worry over not being able to find Cas, it was finding him before anyone else did. Particularly Lucifer.

Sam fought a shudder that inadvertently ran down his spine at the thought of the fallen archangel, of how sure Lucifer had been in Carthage that Sam would say yes to him. He didn't want to meet up with Lucifer again so soon. If he had any choice in the matter he didn't want to have to meet up with the Devil again at all. But he knew they wouldn't be that lucky, and that they would have to eventually have a reckoning if they planned on ending this war.

The next small town they passed to, Dean pulled in at a gas station and Sam got out, grabbing his laptop bag and crossed the street to a diner to grab a seat while Dean filled up the Impala.

He ordered coffees for him and Dean to start off with as he booted up his laptop and logged into the wi-fi.

Dean came into the diner as Sam was flipping through local news reports.

"Anything?" his brother asked.

Sam shook his head with a shrug. "Nothing so far; at least, nothing that would specifically point to demon activity."

"Great," Dean muttered tiredly, running a hand over his face.

"That doesn't mean he's not here, and that there's not demons," Sam offered, not sure whether he was trying to reassure his brother or not. "You know demon sign doesn't always crop up the way you expect it too, especially if they're on the move. And if they're looking for Cas..."

"I know." The waitress came back to take their order, and Sam continued to scan the news sites until their food arrived, but still found nothing particularly out of the ordinary, much to his chagrin.

Dean was antsy to get back on the road, so Sam didn't do a more thorough search but he had seen all that there was to find, and was annoyed that it had brought them no closer to pinpointing Cas' whereabouts.

"I'm gonna hit the restroom before we go," Sam told Dean as his brother went to pay, and headed toward the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were.

As he was washing his hands, the door swung open behind him and the guy who came in just stood right behind him. Sam frowned and turned, finding the new arrival just staring at him uncomfortably.

"You need something?" Sam asked, wary.

"Well, look at that. It isn't every day I'm lucky enough to meet a celebrity," the man said with a strange smirk.

Sam frowned, instantly alert. "Excuse me?"

"Sam Winchester, right?" The man's eyes flicked black.

Sam reached behind him to grab the demon knife from his belt but the demon simply waved a hand and slammed Sam up against the wall by the sink. Sam hit hard with a grunt, vision blackening for a second from the hit to his head.

"I gotta say, I'm surprised," the demon said as Sam struggled to move his arms, hesitant to call out to Dean and alert the other restaurant patrons. The last thing he wanted was a civilian getting involved in this. "We were sent here to find your pet angel, but I should have known you and your brother would show up as well."

Angel? If the demons were here looking for Cas too, they must have also found a way to track him down. The only silver lining was that it looked like Sam and Dean were looking in the right place—if only they could get to Cas first.

But right now, Sam just had to get out of this bathroom alive.

"Looks like it's my lucky day," the demon continued to grin and monologue as they always did. "I may even get the honor of delivering you to Lucifer himself. Of course…" he was right up against Sam now, a hand fisting in his jacket as Sam still tried and failed to move a limb, straining against the demon's mojo with everything he had. "No one said anything about not being able to have a little fun with you first. It's not like Lucifer can't put you back together."

He plucked Sam from the wall and slung him into one of the stalls. Sam crashed through the rickety door and landed hard, smashing his shoulder and the side of his head against the toilet. Dazed, he tried to scramble up, groping for the knife again and getting his hand on it just as the demon strode forward and kicked him harshly in the side. Sam grunted, and tried to scramble to his feet, but the demon grabbed his coat again and slammed him back against the toilet, pressing his head closer and closer to the bowl.

"Seriously? You're going to give me a swirly?" Sam grunted.

The demon smirked. "No hard feelings."

"Yeah, well, go to hell," Sam grunted and slammed the knife into the demon's thigh.

The demon yelled as the wound sparked. Sam felt a moment of satisfaction before the demon punched him hard in the side of the head.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that, you little—" He choked as the tip of a blade appeared through his throat and his eyes sparked out. The demon fell forward and Sam looked up to see his brother standing there. Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

Dean reached down to grip his arm, pulling Sam to his feet. The younger Winchester winced and swayed, slightly dizzy from the—various—knocks to his head, not to mention the pain ripping through his shoulder. It wasn't dislocated, but it was going to be pretty sore for a few days.

"You okay?" Dean asked worriedly, looking him up and down.

Sam grunted. "I'll be fine." He looked around, almost expecting more demons to show up. "We need to get out of here."

Dean didn't argue, hauling Sam out of the stall with the dead demon still lying on the ground. He grabbed some paper towels on the way out and pressed them insistently to Sam's head.

Sam took them with a wince and realized for the first time, he was bleeding from a cut, blood dripping down to his chin. He cleaned himself up as quickly as possible as he and Dean beat a hasty retreat from the restaurant.

"That demon said he was looking for Cas, Dean," Sam told his brother as they got back into the Impala.

Dean's jaw tightened as he glanced over at Sam again, eyes still searching out injuries. "They're probably some of the ones that he escaped from."

Sam swallowed hard, dabbing at his head wound again with a wince. "Yeah, but I think they're only after him to get at me," he admitted.

Dean cursed under his breath. "Well, there's nothing more we can do about it but keep looking for Cas, try to get to him before they do, and keep out of their radar."

Sam nodded, though knowing their luck, he wasn't really convinced that it would work out like that.

Dean glanced over at him again. "I'm not gonna let them take you, Sammy," he said firmly.

Sam nodded again. He knew Dean wouldn't purposefully let anything bad happen to him or Cas, not as long as he breathed.

But that was kind of what Sam was afraid of.

~~~~~~~

The demon, Cal, dripped some of the angel's blood he had collected from the floor into the bowl and lit a match, not really expecting anything to come of it, but this time the spell flared in the bowl and actually, finally worked! He grinned as the location flared across his eyelids, then stood and turned to the others.

"Well?" his boss asked.

"Got him," Cal said with a sneer. "The little angel can't run anymore. Especially after Jake and Carlton clipped his wings."

"Go get him then, we've already wasted enough time with this, what with the pure incompetence. Lord Lucifer is not happy with the delay."

Cal ducked his head. "I will take my men and we will find the Winchesters' angel. Then we'll get him to talk." He smiled in delight at the idea of what he could do to the angel to get him to tell them where Sam Winchester was. Especially if his wings were visible, ripe for so many fun and entertaining games. Oh yes, he would get the angel to talk plenty…. between the screams.

"Stop day dreaming and do it then!" his boss snapped and the demon nodded swiftly, before turning around to gather his men.

"Come with me," he told them. "We're gonna catch ourselves an angel."

The other demons cackled gleefully and followed him to the location.

However, they ended up in a place that was not anticipated. It looked to be a bedroom, dark, except for a nightlight. There was a small lump in the bed and items that made the demon believe this was a human child's room.

Where then was Castiel?

He could detect a vaguely angelic presence though; perhaps the little pigeon was hiding somewhere in there—under the bed? In the closet? Then he spotted several feathers tucked into a cup on the little white desk.

Understanding dawned. That must be what had drawn him. Perhaps the child had found the feathers in the woods. Or perhaps it knew where Castiel was. Either way, he had inadvertently stumbled upon a fantastic bargaining chip.

Cal turned to his bemused demons and smirked, before nodding to the bed. They seemed to understand his plan and he walked over to the slumbering figure—a little girl, he saw now—and clamped a hand over the child's mouth.

Wide eyes flew open and she let out a muffled noise of panic as he leaned over and squeezed her face harder.

"Not a word," he hissed threateningly as he watched her eyes flick from his face to his demons.

"Now tell me," he said with a grin and allowed his eyes to turn black. "Where is the angel those feathers belong to?"

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Maddie started awake to the black-eyed man clamping a hand over her face, and then in another dizzying second they appeared outside on the lawn behind her house as if by magic. She was almost so shocked it took her a moment to be terrified. These must be the bad men Castiel had told her about, and he had also been right about the fact that they were not human.

But didn't Nancy Drew face down bad guys all the time? Maddie needed to be brave for Castiel. She just hadn't realized how hard being brave was.

"What do you want?" she demanded in a wavering voice.

The black-eyed man who still had a hand clamped over her arm, squeezed tighter as he yanked her closer to him. "I asked you a question, girl! Where is the angel that you took the feathers from?"

Her bottom lip trembled, but she shook her head. The man leaned over into her face and shook her roughly. "This isn't a game, human spawn. That angel knows where to find the key to the one who will help my Lord win this war we're fighting. So where is he? Where is Castiel? And don't pretend you don't know."

Maddie was shaking, but she managed to force out in a small voice. "Please don't hurt him."

The black-eyed man grinned cruelly. "Ah, so I was right, you do know the little feathered pest. Well, then, I'll put it this way. If you don't tell me where Castiel is hiding right now, like the coward he is, then I will send one of my demons to slit your mommy and daddy's throats while they sleep. How does that sound?"

Maddie shook even harder. Demons? No, she couldn't let them hurt her parents! Surely Castiel would know what to do even if the bad guys did find him. He was a warrior and a hero. He was an angel!

She started crying all the same as she nodded. "Okay," she forced out. "I'll show you."

The black-eyed man, the demon, grinned, and squeezed her arm again. "Good, lead the way."

Maddie cried some more, but this time because she was so weak. She decided, as she tore her bare feet open on sticks as she entered the forest, that being a hero was not much fun at all.

~~~~~~~

Castiel was jolted from his recharging sleep, by the door of the small clubhouse slamming open. He scrambled for his blade before he even knew what was happening. A light flicked on, and he struggled into a sitting position, angel blade in hand, as he was faced by the horrifying scene in front of him.

Five demons pressed into the tiny clubhouse, along with a sobbing Maddie, who one demon—the leader, Castiel thought—was dragging none-too-gently by the arm.

The demon threw the little girl to the ground where she was sobbing quietly.

"Maddie!" Castiel cried, surging to his feet, only to feel pain shoot through his ankle so badly that he stumbled and had to catch himself against the wall.

Maddie's tear-stained face turned up to look at him. "I'm sorry, Castiel," she cried.

"Aw, isn't that just heartbreaking," the demon sneered as he looked down with mock pity to the little girl at his feet.

"Leave her out of this," Castiel said in a dangerous voice, glowering at the demons.

"Oh, we can't do that," the head demon said with obvious pleasure. "Because you see, Castiel, those other demons who had you might have been stupid, but I'm not. I know you'll never give up your precious Winchesters, no matter how long I torture you. But if I threaten this sweet, innocent, little thing…" he reached down and yanked Maddie up by the back of her pajamas. "Then I think that will get you to sing. Won't it, Castiel?"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Castiel shouted, and lunged forward, blade at the ready, but the other demons were already coming to meet him. He slashed one in the side with his blade, and slammed another in the face, but he had no balance with his injured ankle and one of them simply grabbed and wrenched his injured wing, and Castiel was on his knees before he knew what happened. A heavy boot slammed into his stomach, and several punches were directed to his face, causing his sight to darken with each blow. His hand went numb and his angel blade went sliding across the floor, and the demons continued to punch and kick him until he was forced to curl up against the wall to try and stave off their blows, doing his best to protect his wings. He was unable to help crying out when one of them kicked his injured ankle, however.

"Stop! Stop hurting him!" Maddie's pleas came, and broke Castiel's heart. He didn't want her to see this, wished he had his powers so he could simply fly her out of there.

"Alright, that's enough for now," the head demon said. "I want something to play with later."

The blows stopped as the demons stepped back and Castiel looked up to see the demons surrounding him, Maddie in the middle, sobbing. He tried to give her a reassuring look, but knew his face was covered in blood so it probably didn't look very reassuring at all.

"What should we do with him, Cal?" asked one of the demons eagerly. "How about break the little girl's fingers one by one so he talks?"

The leader, Cal, shook his head. "I don't even think we need to go that far, do you? Do we, Castiel?"

Castiel pushed himself into a sitting position against the wall, trying to keep from wincing. "What do you want from me?"

Cal shook his head. "You know what we want, Castiel. Sam Winchester. Where is he?"

Castiel shook his head, closing his eyes, then wrenched them back open as he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and Maddie's startled cry.

"Do not touch her!" Castiel said, surging forward, only to have the demons crowd in on him.

Cal held up the hand that wasn't wrapped in Maddie's shirt. "I won't touch her again, if you agree to contact the Winchesters and convince them to come join the party. I guarantee you, it can only get more fun from here. Especially when Lucifer shows up."

Castiel's heart froze in his chest, but…he couldn't let these demons hurt Maddie. She was just an innocent child. Maybe once, Castiel would have thought of her as a necessary sacrifice, but now, after befriending the Winchesters…never. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her. He knew Sam and Dean would understand. Besides, they had gotten out of worse situations before.

"Fine, I'll do it," Castiel said with a sigh.

"No, Castiel!" Maddie sobbed. "You can't!"

"Maddie, it's alright," Castiel tried to assure her.

Cal turned to one of his demons and held out a hand. The demon gave him a cell phone. "What is Sam Winchester's number?" he asked.

Castiel, feeling defeated, gave the number for Sam's phone. Cal punched it in, but before he hit dial, he said, "Now, I trust you know the rules. It stays on speaker, and if I hear any funny business, your little friend suffers the consequences."

"All they need to come is to hear the truth," Castiel said bitterly. "If they know a child's life is in danger, they'll be here."

Cal shook his head with a disgusted snort. "And you bleeding hearts think you can win this war." He dialed the number and Castiel waited breathlessly for the Winchesters to pick up.

~~~~~~~

The phone rang in Sam's pocket and he scrambled to grab it as he came out of a half-asleep state. They'd been driving all day and he was exhausted.

"Hello?" he asked tiredly, as Dean glanced over at him.

There was a slight pause and then a familiar voice. "Sam?"

Sam was instantly awake, straightening up in his seat as he fought to put the phone on speaker so Dean could hear too. "Cas? Hey, where are you?"

Dean glanced over with wide eyes, leaning toward the phone before Sam held it closer to him. "Cas? You okay man? We've been worried."

There was another long pause before a muffled grunt, and then Cas' voice sounded again. "Sam, Dean, listen to me. The demons…they found me, and they've taken a child captive. They'll kill her if you don't…"

Dean cursed and Sam's stomach dropped out. "It's okay, Cas, just tell us where you are."

Cas gave the location, sounding defeated. Sam was sure that the demons were listening in, otherwise he might have said something else.

"Just hang in there," Dean said instead. "We'll be there soon."

"I'm sorry," Cas barely whispered before the call was cut off.

"Cas?" Dean called but Sam shook his head.

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled as he smacked a hand against the steering wheel. "Dammit."

"What do we do?" Sam asked him. "Obviously they'll be expecting us."

"Yeah, but we've been in worse positions before," Dean said truthfully. "We'll get out of this too."

"But we don't know how many demons there are, and they have a kid, Dean!"

"And nothing is going to happen to her or Cas on my watch," Dean said and glanced over at him. "Or you, okay? I promise they're not gonna get you, Sammy."

Sam hadn't realized he was shaking, hands clenched in his lap at the thought of meeting Lucifer again. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath and nodded shakily as he tried to calm himself down, focus on just rescuing Cas and this little girl. "I know. I just…"

Dean gave him a look that was part determination, part reassurance, and it somehow made Sam feel a little better. Like when he was a kid and still believed that his big brother could protect him from anything. He still believed that somewhere deep down, even though he knew now that wouldn't always be the case.

"How far away are we?" Sam asked pulling out the map.

Dean pressed his foot harder into the gas. "Not that far."

Sam set his jaw and watched the road whip past as he thought about a way they could get out of this alive.

~~~~~~~

Cal ended the call before Castiel could say anything else to the Winchesters. Not that he would do anything to risk Maddie. Sam and Dean knew what would be in store for them and he was sure they would have some sort of plan by the time they got there. The three of them against five demons wasn't the worst odds they had ever been up against. Of course, Castiel could hardly stand on his own two feet with his injury…

"There, I called them," Castiel glared at the demon. "Now let go of her."

"Fine," Cal shrugged and shoved Maddie toward Castiel.

The girl stumbled but Castiel caught her, pulling her protectively into his arms as she continued to sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said.

"Shh, it's okay, Maddie," Castiel tried to reassure her. He couldn't imagine what she was going through right now.

"Aw, she really cares about this washed up pile of feathers," Cal mocked, appealing to his demons. "Can't wait to see her face when we cut him apart piece by piece. Maybe light him up with holy fire if he doesn't scream enough."

Castiel held Maddie tighter, as if to shield her from the demons' horrible suggestions and cruel laughs. She trembled and buried her face in his neck.

"We do have a lot of time to waste while waiting for the Winchesters," one of the demons suggested.

Castiel felt fear clench in his stomach, but Cal shook his head. "No. I want the Winchesters to see what we do to their pet angel as well. Then we'll have the pigeon and Dean to convince Sam to do what he needs to do."

While the demons were occupied making explicit plans on just how they would get Sam to say yes, Castiel turned to Maddie.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly as he pulled her away from him slightly.

She sniffed, but nodded. "I'm okay, but they hurt you again…"

"It's all right, I can take a few hits," Castiel assured her.

"But now they'll have Sam and Dean too, and it's all my fault."

"Maddie," Castiel said, forcing her to look at him, squeezing her shoulders. "You cannot blame yourself. I should never have stayed here. It's my fault you got put into danger. I never wanted that."

"But I took your feathers!" she cried. "I put them in my room. Is that how the demon's found us?"

Realization dawned on Castiel as he watched the little girl sob on her knees in front of him. He hadn't realized she had taken some of his feathers from the cabin. That probably was how the demons were able to track him, using the feathers or his blood left in the warehouse.

"You didn't know," he assured her.

"I should have asked you. I'm sorry."

He squeezed her shoulder again and reached up to wipe some of the tears off her face. "Shh. Maddie, I promise I'll get you out of here. Sam and Dean will be here, they'll have a plan and we'll all get out safely. Okay?"

Maddie nodded jerkily and then huddled against his side. Castiel put an arm carefully around her shoulders, pulling her close. The demons sneered at them as they sauntered around the clubhouse. Castiel wondered how far away Sam and Dean were, how long they would have to wait for them to show up. He knew the demons would get impatient eventually as they always did, and only hoped he could get Maddie back into her bed before her parents woke up to discover her missing. The last thing he wanted was to get more innocent bystanders caught in this fight.

The minutes dragged on, and the demons, as predicted, got more and more impatient. Cal stomped over to Castiel, looming over him.

"Well, Castiel, I'm beginning to wonder whether your Winchesters are even going to show up at all. Did you give them some kind of warning I didn't know about?"

Castiel glowered at him. "You heard them, Cal, they're on their way. It takes humans longer to get places than you or I."

Cal smirked. "Not so quick anymore though, are you, Castiel? Not after what my pals did to you. How does it feel, being mortal?"

"I'd love for you to try it; see how you handle it," Castiel snapped.

Cal smirked but left them alone again as he turned back to his demons, jerking his head toward the door. "Two of you go wait outside for the Winchesters. That way they won't be able to make a run for it once they get here."

The two demons nodded and left, and for another fifteen minutes Cal was content pacing, but after that, he spun back around and growled. "This is getting ridiculous." He stormed back over and reached for Maddie. "I'm thinking I didn't make myself clear enough."

Maddie whimpered and Castiel shoved her behind him, arching his wings protectively as he faced down Cal, just waiting for him to try something.

"You really are a poor excuse for an angel, Castiel, even a demon like me can see that."

"And why is that?" Castiel demanded.

"Because you would rather protect sniveling humans than fight against Lucifer. No wonder you got kicked out of Club Halo."

Castiel shook his head. "Not that I have to defend myself to you, but protecting humanity was always the first and foremost job of angels. We're the ones who have forgotten that over time."

Cal shrugged. "Whatever. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy plucking your wings."

He pulled Castiel's angel blade out of his belt and held it up. "Because I'm getting a little bored, and I don't think it will hurt for the Winchesters to see just how dire this situation is when they do finally get here. We may as well do our best to sell it. I don't think we have nearly enough blood yet, do you?"

Castiel tensed, and he felt Maddie's hand clench in his back of his coat, but he would not be moved away from her. No matter what Cal decided to do to him. He only wished she wouldn't have to see this.

"Do your worst," Castiel challenged.

Cal smirked and raised the blade, about to take Castiel up on that challenge when the door to the clubhouse slammed open, and Sam and Dean were suddenly there.

"Cas!" Dean yelled.

"Sam, Dean, there's more outside!" Cas cried before Cal kicked him in the head, toppling him to one side as stars burst behind his eyes. He heard Sam and Dean grunt and then a crash and when his vision cleared, they were plastered against the far wall, straining to get free.

Cal strode over to them with a grin on his face before he turned back to Castiel.

"Well, now that the whole gang is here, why don't we get the party started?"


	6. Chapter 6

Sam fought to pry himself away from the wall but it was no use. Dean was likewise plastered, and Cas…Cas, with his wings and bloody, torn, trench coat, was crouched protectively beside a little girl in pajamas who was watching everything with wide, terrified eyes. Sam grit his teeth. How had she managed to get involved in this?

"Well, well, Sam Winchester," the demon, who seemed to be the leader said as he strode up to the two trapped hunters. "We found our mate that you killed in the diner bathroom. Made a bit of a ruckus with the locals, but he should have known better than to go after two hunters of your notoriety alone. I'd say it serves him right. Besides, now I get the glory of bringing you to Lucifer myself."

Sam's breath caught in his throat as he struggled anew.

Cas actually growled. "You will never take him while I live, Cal."

The demon shrugged, spinning an angel blade he held in his hand. "Than can be arranged."

He turned on Cas and the little girl screamed as the angel shoved her behind him, raising his hands as if to defend himself, but Sam could tell it wasn't going to go well for their friend.

"Get away from him!" Dean yelled.

The demon only grinned and reached down to yank Cas to his feet. The angel cried out, and Sam saw one foot wrapped in bandages. He swallowed hard. Cas slammed a fist into the demon's face, caught the wrist Cal held the blade with, but the demon was taller, bearing down with all his weight on top of Cas, forcing pressure on his injured foot, and pressing the tip of the blade closer to his heart.

"Stop!" Sam cried out. "Don't kill him! I'll go quietly!"

"Sam," Dean snapped.

"Sam, don't," Cas grunted, still trying to keep the blade away from his chest.

The demon, Cal, turned back to Sam, though, hand still gripped in Cas' coat. "And why should I believe you?"

"Because you know that I'm not going to risk the people I care about," Sam said. "Or that little girl."

The demon cocked his head to one side in consideration, then smirked, and shook his head. "No. I will still have your brother. The angel is totally obsolete."

"No!" Sam yelled, as Cal pulled the blade back to plunge it into Cas' chest.

But Cas was quicker. Mustering some reservation of energy, he gripped the demon's wrist, and twisted away from the oncoming blade, using the momentum to direct it instead, into Cal's thigh.

"Gah!" the demon cried, and angrily flung Cas toward the wall where the angel hit hard and tumbled back to the ground in a heap of feathers, still and silent.

The little girl cried out and crouched beside the angel, shaking his shoulder as she cried.

Sam swallowed hard as Cal and the other demons turned their attention to the Winchesters. Cal yanked the blade out of his thigh and snarled. "Oh, I have had enough of this." He turned to one of his demons. "Call the boss, tell him that we have Lord Lucifer's vessel."

The demon nodded and left the cabin to make the call. Cal turned back to Sam and Dean.

"I'm never going to say yes," Sam told him firmly.

Cal shrugged. "You may change your mind when you have to listen to your brother's continuous screams." He motioned with his hand toward Dean, and Sam's brother gasped, and choked, slamming his head back against the wall as pain rippled over his features.

"Stop," Sam tried, but the demon's only answer was to smirk and clench his fist. Dean groaned and choked as blood dribbled from his mouth.

"Stop it!" Sam screamed, trying to wrench himself away from the wall again.

Cal kept up his torments for a few more agonizing seconds before he waved his hand and Dean slumped to the floor like a sack of rocks. The demon stepped up to Sam then, only inches from his face, the angel blade touching the underside of his chin, and tipping his head back.

"Looks like there's no one to defend your honor now, Sammy." Sam glowered at him, swallowed hard. "Let me tell you how this is going to go. We're going to take you to Lucifer, he'd going to ask you a question, and then we're going to peel the skin from your brother and the angel until you give him the answer he wants. How does that sound?"

"Go to hell," Sam said.

"I'd rather not," Cal told him with a grin. "It's so much more fun up here."

"I'm inclined to agree with you."

Sam watched as his brother surged to his feet and tackled Cal with a flying leap. The hold the demon had over Sam faltered and he slumped to the ground. He reached for his demon knife and slammed it into the chest of one of the demon lackeys who was coming up to detain him. That one sparked out and fell to the ground, and Sam turned to see the other one coming.

Cas was on his feet again too, and he snatched up the angel blade that had fallen out of Cal's hand when Dean bore him to the ground. Sam watched as the little girl pressed close to his side, helping him support himself on his injured leg, and Cas' wings arched protectively over her as he faced off with the demon that charged him.

Sam took another one out, and that just left Cal who had trapped Dean under him now, and had his hand around the elder Winchester's throat. Sam lurched forward and stabbed the demon knife into Cal's back.

The demon arched with a snarl, eyes flicking black as he turned to glare at Sam. "This isn't over, Sam. Lucifer will find you one way or another, and when he does, he's not going to be happy that you keep refusing him."

"Let him come," Sam snarled and twisted the blade until it reached the demon's heart, and Cal's eyes finally sparked orange and he slumped to the ground, half on top of Dean.

Sam's brother grunted, and Sam helped kick the demon's body off of him before he reached down to help Dean to his feet. Dean staggered, and spat blood with a groan.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, hand still gripping his brother's shoulder in support.

"I'll live," Dean muttered before they both turned to Cas who was slumping tiredly against the wall, with the girl still attached to his side, one of his wings curled around her.

"Cas, you okay?" Dean asked worriedly as they both went over and helped support the angel between them.

"I'll…be okay with a little rest," Cas said, weariness obvious in his voice as he slumped further. Sam and Dean barely caught him.

"Woah, easy," Dean said and glanced at Sam. They both helped Cas the few feet to the couch and let him slump onto it.

"I'm sorry, I'll be fine in a minute," Cas muttered.

"No, he's hurt!" the little girl insisted, coming up to stand beside the couch, looking pleadingly at the Winchesters. "You have to help him!"

"Maddie," Cas chided gently.

"The bad men, the demons, they took his powers away and hurt him. That's why he couldn't leave my clubhouse," the girl, Maddie, insisted. "I told him to call you, but before he could the demons showed up! But you have to fix him. Castiel said there were ingredients that would make the spell go away."

Sam and Dean shared a look, half amused by the little girl's insistence and half curious.

"Is that true, Cas?" Dean asked. "The demons knocked out your mojo?"

Cas sighed resignedly. "Yes. And made my wings visible. I thought it would wear off eventually, but it looks like that isn't the case with these spells."

"But you think there's a counter spell?" Sam asked.

Castiel paused but nodded. "There should be. Though it will require some rare ingredients."

"I'll go grab the stuff from the car," Dean said.

~~~~~~~

Castiel watched with some awe as Sam and Dean looked through one of Bobby's spell books to find something that would work to break the curses put on him, spreading the bowl and the ingredients onto the little play table.

He supposed that he was just surprised to be alive, and reunited with the Winchesters who had proven again, to his deep gratitude, to be true friends. The kind that would come for him even when it put them in perilous danger. Just the idea of how close Sam had been to being carried off for Lucifer…Castiel shuddered inwardly at the thought.

Maddie sat beside him, refusing to leave his side for a moment after the trauma. She seemed fine, but Castiel knew she would be remembering this night for a long time. Thankfully, Sam and Dean had carted off the dead demons and would later bury the bodies in the woods where they would never be found, but the small clubhouse was a wreck, and there were spots of blood that would have to be cleaned up. He knew he couldn't in good conscious leave Maddie's special place looking like this.

If she ever wanted to come back here again anyway.

"Okay, I think we found something," Sam said as he set the book down on the table and tapped the page he had been reading. "This should remove whatever the demons did to you."

"Do you have everything for it?" Maddie asked eagerly.

Dean smiled briefly at her. "Don't worry, we have a very well-stocked cupboard."

Castiel nudged her slightly. "You should probably step back," he told her.

Maddie reluctantly slid from the couch and went to stand behind Sam and Dean as they put the proper ingredients into the bowl.

Dean then cut his hand and dripped some blood in as Sam lit a match and said a few words in Latin.

"Here goes nothing," he said and dropped the match in.

The ingredients flared up with a blinding light, but when it died down, Castiel could feel something instantly unlock from inside of him, as if a giant fist had finally released its grip. He huffed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes.

"Cas?" Dean's worried voice reached him. "You good?"

"Yes, I think it worked." Castiel concentrated for a moment, his grace still sluggishly coming back to him, and then allowed his wings to shimmer once more back to the ethereal plane. Maddie gasped slightly as she came back over to him.

"Are you okay? Will your wounds heal now?" she asked anxiously.

Castiel smiled at her. "It will take a while, and I'll need some time to rest while my grace recharges, but I'll be fine."

"I'm glad," Maddie said, but her face was sorrowful, and she sniffed slightly.

Castiel frowned and leaned over to study her face. "Maddie, what's wrong?"

"You'll leave now," she sniffed again. "And I'll miss you."

Castiel shared a look with Sam and Dean as they watched the exchange. "Maddie, you know I have to leave. I told you I have to fight in this war, and be there to help Sam and Dean."

"I know." She brushed some tears from her cheeks. "But I'll still miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Castiel told her sincerely, and then was surprised when she surged forward to throw her arms around his neck. He caught sight of Sam and Dean smiling and had to smile too as he carefully wrapped his arms around her as well, returning the hug. "But remember, I told you I would visit when it's all over, okay?"

"Promise?" she asked, voice muffled in his neck.

"Promise," he replied firmly.

Maddie pulled back with a sigh, and Dean cleared his throat. "Well, I hate to break this up, but it's only an hour until dawn, and we have to get Maddie back to her house."

Maddie gasped. "Oh no! If I don't get back home by the time my parents are up they'll be so worried!"

Sam smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll get you back there. And we'll clean up here too, okay?"

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Maddie?" Castiel asked her. "You weren't hurt or anything, were you?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. And I promise not to tell anyone about what happened."

Castiel bit back a regretful sigh, wishing, once again, that Maddie hadn't been dragged into this, but everything had turned out all right in the end and he was certainly grateful for that.

They cleaned up the cabin as well as they could. Castiel still couldn't walk very well, but he did as much as he was able, and then once everything was back to Maddie's specifications and there was no demon blood on the floor, it was time to get her back home.

Castiel found that this parting was going to be harder than he had thought.

The three of them took Maddie back to the edge of the woods, Dean giving the little girl a piggy back ride because she still didn't have shoes, and Castiel leaning on Sam's shoulder to help support his broken ankle. But he could feel his grace working again, reaching out for his wounds, and knew that with a good couple days of rest he would be back to normal. Or the new normal anyway. As good as it was going to get for him anymore. He would never let on to the Winchesters, but it was already taking longer than it normally should have for him to heal his injuries.

"Alright, here we are," Dean said as he lowered Maddie to the ground. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pendant on a necklace. "Now, this is a protective necklace that will keep demons away, okay? I want you to wear it all the time for a while just in case. And keep salt by your bed so that you can pour it in front of your door and windows if you even think demons might be around."

Maddie nodded with a brave face, and took the necklace, putting it over her head.

"And you'll have to get rid of the feathers," Castiel told her, seeing her face fall. "Burning them will be best."

"Okay," she said sadly and looked toward the east where the sun was rising. "I guess you have to go now, don't you?"

Castiel smiled sadly. "I'm afraid so."

Maddie sniffed again, and ran toward him, throwing her arms around his waist. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Castiel."

"I'm glad I got to meet you too, Maddie," he told her, settling a hand on the top of her head. "I promise I'll come back to see you when I have the chance."

She sniffed again and nodded against him before she pulled away and wiped her eyes. Then she surprised Sam and Dean with hugs too. "Thanks for saving us. Please make sure Castiel stays safe."

Sam and Dean shared a look and smiled. "We will, kiddo," Dean told her, crouching down to look her in the eye. "But thanks for taking care of him for us this time."

Maddie looked pleased and slightly abashed at the same time. "It was good to meet you too."

"Same here," Dean told her, mussing her hair gently.

"Stay safe," Sam added.

She took a deep breath, looked back at Castiel one last time.

"Goodbye, Maddie," he told her.

"Bye, Castiel," she said and then turned and ran toward her house.

Castiel and the Winchesters watched until she slipped through the door and closed it behind her and then they turned to each other. Castiel felt a strange heaviness in his chest at watching Maddie go, but Dean slung an arm over his shoulders, relieving some of that.

"Come on, Cas, you look like hammered crap. We're gonna get you back to Bobby's for real this time."

Castiel sighed wearily and leaned unashamedly on Dean as they made their way back to where the Winchesters had left the Impala. "I think I could use some rest."

"Damn right," Dean said.

Castiel cast one last look at the house, seeing a lit window and a small figure standing there, watching. He smiled and waved at her and Maddie waved back. Then she disappeared and Castiel turned back to the path ahead.

Once they reached the Impala, he breathed a sigh of relief, and Sam helped him slide into the back seat while Dean grabbed him a water bottle.

"I don't need to drink anymore," he told him, but took it anyway.

"Just try some," Dean told him as he slid into the driver's seat, glancing over his shoulder worriedly at the angel. Castiel was both touched and slightly annoyed at his obvious concern. "You sure you're good?"

"I'm very tired and sore, but my injuries are healing," Castiel assured him as he took a deep drink of the water and then leaned back against the seat, feeling his eyes already getting heavy. "Let's just get to Bobby's before any more demons show up."

Dean nodded and turned the key, setting the Impala in motion. Castiel closed his eyes as the soothing sounds of the car motor thrummed through him. He knew they had been lucky this time to have gotten away from the demons, but he also knew that the time would come that they would have to face down Lucifer face to face. That would probably not go so well, either.

But Castiel also knew that together, he and the Winchesters were strong. Sam had the will to face down Lucifer, he was sure of it, and Dean would do anything to protect his brother, as Cas would do anything to protect these humans who had become his dear friends. Yes, together, despite the odds, he felt they truly had a shot at stopping the apocalypse.

But right now? Right now, he was going to take advantage of this slight breather they were gifted with for the moment.

So he leaned back on the bench seat, closed his eyes, and drifted off to allow his grace to start healing his body, comforted by the presence of his charges, actually safe for the moment, and the thoughts of the little girl he had left behind—just another one of the reasons they were fighting this war to begin with.

 


End file.
